Page 10 of The Masks and the Dancer (Their Obsession 2)

“Youwanther.”

“Of course I want her. Wealldo!” Leon retorts with a sharp laugh, glancing at Konrad who’s watching us both in a state of shock. “Need I remind you, that you were the one who broke our agreement first. You feasted on her pussy then put your dick in her mouth.Youbroke our agreement. You want her just as much, more given you couldn’t fucking control yourself!”

“That isn’t what I meant. We all want to fuck her, but you… You’ve developedfeelingsfor her,” I accuse, getting in his face. I’ve been ignoring that fact for days now, but seeing his expression as he read the letter just now… that’s only confirmed what I’ve feared all along. He feels something for her.

Hefeels.

Feelings are dangerous.

Poisonous.

Not. Fucking. Allowed.

He can fuck her, torture her, use and abuse her, butwanther for more than that? No. No fucking way. We haven’t built what we have here for it to be destroyed by a piece of ass, no matter how fucking tempting she may be. No matter how much she fulfils our fantasies. No matter what a dead woman supposedly said from beyond the grave.

No matter how much you want her as well,that treacherous voice inside my head goads.

I push it away, locking the thought up with all the other ones that have been brought to life since her arrival. They’ve no business being in my mind.

Leon barks out a laugh. “Says the man who ran off to the forest to beat himself black and blue just so he could be in her presence. I think you’re projecting,brother.”

Without giving it a single thought, I pull my arm back and punch him again, relishing the feel of my knuckles splitting from the force of hitting his jaw. His head snaps to the side, the loud crack of bone meeting bone reverberating around the room.

“You fucker!” he roars, punching me in the eye and splitting my eyebrow before Konrad pulls him off me, getting an elbow to his cheek for the trouble.

I raise my fist, ready to throw another punch, but Konrad steps in between us, pushing us both back. “ENOUGH!” he shouts, forcefully shoving us apart.

The three of us stare at each other, chests heaving, fists curled. Despite everything we’ve been through at the hands of our father, there hasn’t been one thing that has made us fight like this. Excepther.

Which is precisely why she must die.

“She’s supposed to be Nothing…” I say eventually, scrubbing a hand over my face.

“She is. She meansnothingto me. I know how I feel,” Leon says, striding over to the antique drinks trolley and pouring himself a three-fingered shot of bourbon before knocking it back in one gulp. We all notice how his hand shakes. That never happens.Ever.

“Do you though?” Konrad asks, his voice strained, troubled, as he flicks his gaze to me.

“What?” Leon slams the glass back on the table, his body coiled tightly as he turns back around to face us.

“You called her by her name, brother,” Konrad reminds him. “And when she reminded you of that fact you lost your mind. You…”

“I what?” he snaps.

“Youcracked.”

“It was a slip of the tongue. A fuckingmistake. She pissed me off.”

“It was more than that,” Konrad insists.

Leon shakes his head. “No—”

“Then prove it,” I say, forcing the words out, even though they burn my throat. I hate that. I hate that those words hurt. I shouldn’t give a shit about what I’m asking Leon to do. I shouldn’t fucking care, but I do, and that’s the problem.

“Prove it?”

“I need to see you prove it. End this, tonight.”

“You want me to kill her...tonight?” Leon’s face blanches.

---